AN UNEXPECTED ACT OF KINDNESS

Walking home from Trader Joe

with little Lev in a stroller,

I run into a bedraggled-looking

homeless guy blocking our way

on Geary Street.

Invisible to most passersby,

I see sadness in his rheumy eyes.

Expecting to be panhandled,

I reach for my wallet,

but he moves off to the side,

exclaiming in a raspy voice:

“I’m smoking,

and I didn’t want the smoke

to get into the kid’s face.”